Blade and guard adjusting means for safety razors



Aug. 10, 1954 CARTER 2,685,733

G MEANS FOR SAFETY RAZOR-S BLADE AND GUARD ADJUSTIN Filed April 1, 1953 Fig. 4

Harry B. Carfer INVENTOR.

BY W

Patented Aug. 10, 1954 BLADE AND GUARD ADJUSTING MEANS FOR, SAFETY RAZORS Harry B. Carter, Austin nine per cent to Jo Tex.

Tex, assignor of fortyhn W. Kokernot, Austin,

Application April 1, 1953, Serial N 0. 346,220

1 Claim.

My invention relates to blade and guard adjusting means for safety razors of the tiltably adjustable blade type, and is designed as an improvement over the safety razors of my U. S. Patent No. 2,482,152 dated September 20, 1949, and S. Patent No. 2,657,459 dated November 3,19 3.

The primary object of this invention is to provide efficient means operative from the butt end of the razor handle for tilting the blade into engagement with a guard at an efiicient shaving angle relative to the axis of the handle and to the plane of the guard and so that ample clearance is provided between the blade and guard, for lather, or shaving cream, and whereby a cleaner easy shave may be obtained than with safety razors as now constructed.

Another object is to provide for accomplishing the above by screw feed means operative to adjust the guard into clamping engagement with a blade to tilt and hold a blade in tilting position.

Another object is to provide screw feed means for the above purpose which is operative to disengage the guard from the blade so that the blade may tilt freely and be stropped while in the razor by sliding the blade over a strop so as to present opposite sides of the blade to the strop.

Still another object is to provide for accomplishing the foregoing objects in a razor which is of simple construction and adapted for manufacture at a low cost.

Other and subordinate objects, together with the precise nature of my improvements will be readily understood, when the succeeding description and claim are read with reference to the drawing accompanying and forming part of this specification.

In said drawing:

Figure 1 is a view in razor embodying my improvements;

Figure 2 is an enlarged view in longitudinal section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a further enlarged View in perspective of the guard and male shaft, and

Figure 4 is a view in side elevation illustrating the manner in which the blade may be stropped.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, the safety razor with which my invention is concerned comprises, as in my aforesaid patents, a cylindrical handle 3 provided on its front end with a U-shaped cross yoke 5 having resilient forwardly extending legs 1, and the blade 9, which is of single edge hollow ground construction, provided with end trunnions I I in substantially its longitudinal center rotatable in aperperspective of a safety rotating said shaft 31.

2 tures #3 in said legs 1 so that said blade is tiltable between said legs about an axis transverse to the handle 3 and may be removed for replacement purposes by spreading the legs apart to free the trunnions l I.

Coming now to my improvements, a skeleton guard I5 is slidably mounted between the legs 7 on the same and in back of the blade 9 for adjustment forwardly and rearwardly into and from clamping engagement with said blade 9.

The guard I5 is substantially E-shaped to provide a toothed front guard bar I l, rearwardly extending end arms l9 at a right angle to said front bar If, and a rearwardly extending center lug 2| coplanar with said arms IS. The end arms ie are recessed, as at 23, to straddle and slidably engage the legs 7 for slidably mounting the guard IE on said legs.

Screw feed means is provided for adjusting the guard :1 comprising a front, male shaft 25 riveted to the ear 2i as at 21, and slidable forwardly and rearwardly of the handle 3 in an axial, front counterbore 29 in said handle 3. The rear end of the male shaft 25 is threaded, as at 3B, and extends into a larger axial bore 31 in the handle 3 having an enlarged rear end portion 35 at the butt end 36 of said handle forming an annular internal shoulder 34 in said handle adjacent said butt end. A rotary, axially bored female shaft 3? in the bore 3! is threaded onto the rear end of the shaft 25 and is provided with a reduced rear end 39 extending out of the butt end 33 of the handle 3 with a squared portion 4i having a hand grip knob 43 suitably fixed thereon for A collar 45 on the reduced end 39 of said shaft 3'! is fixed thereto by an Allen screw 46 in the enlarged portion 35 of the bore 3| and locks said shaft 3'! in the bore 3!.

Means are provided on the guard H for clampingly engaging the rear side of the blade 9 on opposite sides of its longitudinal center to tilt said blade 9 into angular position relative to the axis of the handle 3 with its cutting edge overlapping the toothed bar IT. This means comprises a right angled forwardly extending terminal stud 4! on the lug 2| adapted to engage the rear side of the blade 9 at one side of the axis of tilting movement of said blade, and a pair of shorter forwardly extending studs 49 on the bar ll adjacent its ends adapted to engage the rear side of the blade 9 on the other side of its axis of tilting movement and adjacent the front corners of said blade.

As will now readily be seen, the female shaft 3'! may be rotated by the knob 43 in opposite directions to feed the male shaft 25 and guard is forwardly to clampingly engage the studs 47, 49 with the blade 9, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, or rearwardly to disengage said studs from said blade and adjust said guard away from said blade against the front end of the handle 3 as shown in Figure 4. When clampingly engaged, the studs ll, d9 will tilt the blade 9 so that it slants downwardly and rearwardly relative to the axis of the handle 3 and the plane of the guard E5, in effective shaving position with its cutting edge slightly spaced by the studs st forwardly of the toothed bar ll and said blade slanting from its cutting edge away from the guard to provide a clearance between said cutting edge and guard, and between the blade and guard for lather to pass behind the blade 9 and rearwardly out of the skeleton guard. When the guard is is adjusted away from the blade 9, said blade may be tilted freely on its trunnions H so that the razor may be held upside down to position the blade on a strop 59, as shown in Figure l, and the blade stropped by moving it back and forth on the strop so that said blade will be rotated by frictional engagement of its rear edge with said strop to present its sides alternately to the strop for stropping of said blade on both sides thereof.

With the blade 9 removed, in the manner previously described, the screw M3 may be removed or loosened to free the collar 45 so that the female shaft 3'! may be unscrewed from the male shaft 25 and removed out of the handle 3 to gether with the collar 45. The male shaft 25 and guard Il may then be removed. Thus, the razor may be taken apart for cleaning and oiling if necessary.

The foregoing will, it is believed, suffice to impart a clear understanding of my invention, without further explanation.

Manifestly, the invention, as described, is susceptible of modification without departing from the inventive concept, and right is herein reserved to such modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claim.

W hat is claimed as new is as follows:

In a safety razor including a cylindrical handle provided on its front end with a yoke having a pair of forwardly extending legs, a single edge blade having ends pivoted to said legs for tilting of the blade therebetween and a rotary knob at the rear end of the handle, a blade guard slidably mounted on said legs for adjustment between said legs into and from clamping engagement with the blade to adjust the blade into a tilted shaving position, and screw feed means for adjusting said guard operative by said knob and extending axially through said handle and operatively connected to said guard, said guard having relatively long and short studs thereon for engaging the blade upon opposite sides of its axis of tilting movement and tilting said blade at an angle to the axis of the handle the plane of the guard into shaving position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 914,957 Kiam Mar. 9, 1909 2,657,459 Carter Nov. 3, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 219,318 Great Britain 1926 527,523 France -1 July 27, 1921 

